What Was El Paso Like From From The 1850's-1900's

Money

People who lived in the 1850’s-1880's had a very wide spread variety of money that was spent. They had all sorts of money that was valid. Money was printed in several different places around America and they did not have any consistency as to what money they did print. This also made things difficult for bankers and people to make sure that they had the right money that was being spent.

Travel

The people of El Paso in the 1850’s traveled long distance riding on trains, and riding horses. Railroads became more popular towards the 1890. Horses were still being rode in El Paso, and horse and buggies were still in fashion. The first automobiles were in the late 1800's to 1900's, so those were inventions created in the years to come.

Clubs and Recreation

Sorosis was the first professional women’s club in America founded by Jane Cunningham Croly in 1868. Because Jane was not allowed to attend an all male meeting, she decided that she would found her own all-female club so that the women could have something of their own. The Club was founded in January of 1869. The club meetings contributed to culture, art, literature, science, and education of El Paso. By the next year, The Sorosis Women's Club had 83 members.Sorosis means "aggregation"; doing things together.

Clothing

The women of the 1800’s El Paso wore long sleeved dresses that covered below the knee, went down to the ankle or dragged slightly behind them. Over their dresses, they wore something called a bustle that was an undergarment. The purpose of the bustle was to make their dresses to appear bigger with more volume. This was a kind of Victorian garment used formally.Other things that were in fashion were the way the women wore their hats and bonnets. The women wore their hair pulled back using comb clips or putting it in fancy buns.

What to See and Do

One of things that you could have gone see, was the alligators in the San Jacinto Plaza of 1885. These alligators were owned originally by an El Pasoan and then they sold them to Sam Ecker, who was also the owner of the plaza. The San Jacinto got their first got alligator in 1889. One pair of alligators at the Plaza were named Jack and Jill. They had arrived in a cigar box in the 1950's. The alligators were cruelly treated. People threw rocks at them and snatched them from their cages as jokes. They eventually, in the 1970's they put clear plastic wall around the alligators so that no one could bother them.

Where to Stay

The Grand Central Hotel was built in 1881. The land in and around it was owned by Mrs. Elizabeth Gillock. So she lived by herself in the hotel, but in the first several years, she sold the hotel. The Grand Central Hotel soon became the White House Department Store and McCoy Hotel in 1912.

What to Eat

Rice, in the 1880s, was one of the crops that grew the best, or a "cash crop" in El Paso. Also corn was one of the other things that grew well.

Safety

The El Paso Fire Department was founded in 1882. They started out as volunteers, but by 1906, they earned the name “fire department”. These were the same group that went to try and stop the fire in the Myar Opera House's end, though they weren't successful. This is the 1880's version of a fire truck.(left)

Justice and Law

The El Paso County Courthouse was founded in 1884. It was "largest and finest county courthouses of its time in Texas." The El Paso County Courthouse is still running today, but of course in its updated version. This is a picture of the courthouse in the 1880's.

The Governor Of Texas

John Ireland was the 18th Governor of Texas in from 1883 to 1887. Ireland was a Democrat, and his first action in office was making the Ad Valorem Tax making part of the State Constitution. This law stated that people must pay taxes according to the size of their land. People were made to put barbwire around their farms and ranches. Farms and ranches were being cut off from water, so this led to people cutting other people's wire. This act was known as The Fence Cutting Wars. John Ireland soon made another law that had Texas Rangers keep the illegal fence cutting under control.

The Practice of Religion

The Sacred Heart-Sagrado Corazon Church was established on February 15, 1885 in El Paso Texas. This was the first church in El Paso that spoke Spanish and was a Catholic Parish. This church later on branched out and also established several schools and colleges.

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